A red, red rose

Chapter 20

Everyone was sat around the large table in the middle of the room. Fury had one arm in a sling and you could visibly see the cuts and bruises on his face from the encounters with HYDRA. Charlie was sat on Fury's left. The cut on the left of her face had now been stitched up but it was still really obvious. She had been given crutches, which Charlie was reluctant to use because it made her look weak. The doctor had informed her that she needed surgery on her leg as soon as possible, otherwise it would end up much worse. 

Steve and Sam were sat on the other side of the table from where Fury was sat. Steve was still shocked by the emergence of his old friend and he kept relatively quiet.

"This man declined the Nobel Peace Prize. He said peace wasn't an achievement, it was a responsibility." Fury placed the picture of Pierce back down on the table. "See, it's stuff like this that gives me trust issues."

"We have to stop the launch." Natasha was sat next to Charlie. She had a bandage around her shoulder from the bullet that she had received on the bridge battle.

"I don't think the Council's accepting my calls anymore." Fury opened up a case that was sitting on the table. Inside there were three computer chips that Charlie had no idea what they were going to be used for. 

"What's that?" Sam voiced Charlie's thoughts.

"Once the helicarriers reach 3,000 feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites, becoming fully weaponised." Maria showed the group the images on her computer screen.

"We need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own." 

"One or two won't cut it. We need to link all three carriers for this to work, because if even one of those ships remains operational..."

"A whole lot of dead bodies." Charlie interrupted her twin, making everyone give her a disappointed look. "Sorry, I'm right though aren't I?"

"She's right," Maria confirmed.

"We have to assume everyone aboard those carriers is HYDRA. We have to get past them, insert the server blades, and maybe we can salvage what's left..." 

"We're not salvaging anything. We're not just taking down the carriers Nick. We're taking down S.H.I.E.L.D." Steve interrupted Fury. 

"S.H.I.E.L.D had nothing to do with this." Fury defended.

"You gave me this mission. This is how it ends. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s been compromised. You said so yourself. HYDRA grew right under your nose and nobody noticed." Steve was beginning to grow angry at the man in front of him.

"Why do you think we are meeting in this cave? I noticed." Fury spoke back in an annoyed tone.

"How many paid the price before you did?" 

The anger on Fury's face disappeared, "Look, I didn't know about Barnes."

"Even if you had, would you have told me? Or would you have compartmentalised that too? S.H.I.E.L.D, HYDRA, it all goes." 

"He's right." Maria spoke up from the directors right.

Fury looked around the room at everyone to see their answers. Natasha didn't speak but you could tell by her face that she agreed with Steve. Charlie gave a small nod when Fury looked at her, it all needed to go.

"Don't look at me. I do what he does, just slower." Sam told the man when he turned to him.

"Well... It look's like you're giving the orders now Captain"

-

Sam and Steve were standing in the middle of a bridge just outside the building they were situated in. Charlie was stood at the end watching the two of them engrossed in conversation. All of a sudden she felt a buzz from the new, encrypted phone that Maria had given her. 

"Hey losers, we need to leave in five!" She shouted at men on the bridge.

"You better get going then, you'll need at the time you can get!" Sam joked as he shouted back to the woman.

"Just because I'm on crutches doesn't mean I can't kick your ass Wilson!" 

The two men started to walk back towards Charlie, starting their own conversation again. Once they were back inside the building everybody got to work. 

A/N - I know this is a really short chapter but I'm off for half term this week so there should be more chapters than normal this week. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, see you soon.